site.btaContinue the Change Seeks State Budget Amendments to Fund Anti-Corruption Measures and Other Policies

The Continue the Change (CC) party is submitting to the National Assembly draft amendments to the 2025 State Budget Bill before its second reading. The proposals are aimed at minimizing the possibilities for corrupt practices and non-transparent spending of public resources, supporting young families, aiding businesses and improving healthcare services, the CC press office said on Tuesday.

The party proposes measures to reduce the government debt. It suggests lowering the cap on new debt assumed throughout the year from BGN 18.9 billion to BGN 11.9 billion; transparent spending of capital resources (revoking a provision under which capital expenses unabsorbed by September 30 may be used to fund current maintenance work, which means the money can be spent non-transparently by construction companies favoured by the government as resources are transferred by Council of Ministers decree); compiling a list of activities to be funded by the central executive budget; and establishing a public procurement requirement for privately run hospitals when they use public resources, in order to cut the medication costs of the National Health Insurance Fund.

One of the proposals concerning young families is about increasing the tax credit for children, from BGN 600 to BGN 900 for a first child, from BGN 1,200 to BGN 1,800 for a second child, from BGN 1,800 to BGN 2,700 for a third child or more, and from BGN 1,200 to BGN 1,800 for a kid with disabilities. Under another draft amendment, the maternity benefit should be paid in full during the first two years even if the beneficiary goes back to work in the meantime.

CC further envisions a three-year programme for building kindergartens (BGN 150 million) and nurseries (BGN 300 million) in Sofia, and an expansion of the scope of the one-off allowance for school students, including in fifth, sixth and seventh grade.

Proposed measures for businesses include keeping the VAT registration threshold at BGN 166,000, relaxing the requirements for sick leave, raising the limit on food vouchers, and increasing the daily unemployment benefit by the percentage of increase of the maximum contributory income.

In healthcare, CC wants to see improvements in disease prevention. The party has proposals about providing free medicines, lower out-of-pocket payments for partly subsidized medication, free prescription medicines for children aged up to seven years, additional funding for medical products for diabetes patients, a BGN 20 million increase in personal physicians' prophylaxis budgets, and a BGN 22 million package to raise the wages of medical specialists at regional and municipal hospitals.